Where in Japanese

Imagine you’re traveling in Japan and you need to ask for directions in Japanese… what’s the word for where in Japanese? And how do you get there?

This free online lesson will teach you some essential travel Japanese so you can catch a train, find your hotel and navigate your way around the city.

Resources for further reading:

Asking Where in Japanese

Practice Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record

Rocket Record lets you perfect your Japanese pronunciation. Just listen to the native speaker audio and then use the microphone icon to record yourself. Once you’re done, you’ll get a score out of 100 on your pronunciation and can listen to your own audio playback. (Use a headset mic for best results.) Problems? Click here!

何処

どこ

doko

where

Asking for directions

One of the first places you might want to find when arriving in an unfamiliar city could be the tourist information center. If you need to ask a stranger for directions, try this polite question form:

観光案内所へはどうやって行けばいいですか?

かんこう あんないしょ へは どうやって いけば いいですか?

Kankō annaisho ewa dōyatte ikeba iidesuka?

Can you tell me where to find the tourist information center?

That was a polite way to ask for directions to the information center but if you're looking for the easiest way to ask where something is, you'll simply need to say "... は どこですか?" (... wa dokodesuka?) after the name of the place.

Here are some places you might be looking for:

博物館

はくぶつかん

Hakubutsukan

Museum

美術館

びじゅつかん

Bijyutsukan

Art exhibition

遺失物取扱所

いしつぶつ とりあつかいじょ

Ishitsubutsu toriatsukaijyo

Lost property office

えき

Eki

Train station

バス停

バス てい

Basu tei

Bus stop

病院

びょういん

Byōin

Hospital

公衆トイレ

こうしゅう トイレ

Kōshū toire

Public restroom / toilet

銀行

ぎんこう

Ginkō

Bank

ホテル

ホテル

Hoteru

Hotel

レストラン

レストラン

Resutoran

Restaurant

スーパー /  スーパーマーケット

スーパー /  スーパーマーケット

Sūpā / Sūpāmāketto

Supermarket

薬局

やっきょく

Yakkyoku

Pharmacy

空港

くうこう

Kūkō

Airport

Try practicing these example sentences:

美術館はどこですか?

びじゅつかん は どこ ですか?

Bijyutsukan wa doko desuka?

Where is the art exhibition?

駅はどこですか?

えき は どこ ですか?

Eki wa doko desuka?

Where is the train station?

銀行はどこですか?

ぎんこう は どこ ですか?

Ginkō wa doko desuka?

Where is the bank?

Saying thank you

If you need to stop someone on the street or disturb a shopkeeper remember to excuse yourself first and thank them for their time!

すみません

すみません

Sumimasen

Excuse me (polite)

 

あの...

Ano...

Excuse me (casual interjection)

失礼しました...

しつれい しました...

Shitsurei shimashita...

Excuse me (formal)

お忙しいところ、失礼しました

おいそがしい ところ、 しつれい しました

Oisogashī tokoro, shitsurei shimashita.

Thanks for your time, sorry for disturbing you (formal)

どうも ありがとう ございました

どうも ありがとう ございました

Domo arigatō gozaimashita

Thank you very much

That’s it for today. I hope you enjoyed the lesson!

Find out all about asking Japanese questions in this series of lessons. Make sure you listen to the audio and practice your Japanese pronunciation. And do the Japanese tests at the end of each lesson to reinforce your knowledge of Japanese questions!

Sayōnara!

Sayaka Matsuura: Rocket Japanese

Make It Stick With Rocket Reinforcement

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